Faculty, students and alumni from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Entomology earned multiple national honors at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), the world’s largest professional organization for entomologists, with more than 7,000 members.
UNL entomologists received two of ESA’s five professional awards in 2025 — one in Extension and one in teaching — along with numerous additional national recognitions, highlighting the department’s excellence across teaching, Extension and research.
Jody Green, Extension educator, received the 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension for outstanding contributions to extension entomology. Louise Lynch-O’Brien, associate professor, was named recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching, which recognizes the most outstanding teacher of the year in entomology.
Additional honors included:
- Shripat Kamble, emeritus faculty member, who received the Distinguished Service Award to the ESA Certification Program for outstanding contributions to the certification program and the profession of entomology.
- Sajjan Grover, recent Ph.D. alumnus, who earned the 2025 Early Career Professional Research Award, recognizing individuals early in their careers who are making significant contributions to entomological research.
- Kashish Verma, doctoral student, who received the 2025 ESA Plant-Insect Interactions Master’s Student Achievement in Entomology Award, recognizing creativity and significant achievement through research, teaching and/or outreach.
- Haley Fleetwood, master’s student, who received the 2025 ESA Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology Section Graduate Student Travel Award.
- Andrea Rilakovic, doctoral student, who received the 2025 ESA Plant-Insect Ecosystems Travel Award.
- Georgina Bingham, associate research professor, who was part of a multi-institution team that received the 2025 ESA Plant-Insect Ecosystems Integrated Pest Management Team Award for exceptional collaborative work advancing pest management.
UNL students were also recognized for excellence in research presentations at the national meeting:
- Tanaka Murambi — First place, Undergraduate Plant-Insect Ecosystems IPM poster
- Vojin Milosevic Sr. — Second place, Undergraduate Plant-Insect Ecosystems IPM poster
- Aarju Aryal — First place, Graduate 10-minute presentation, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Field Crops
- Thales Rodrigues da Silva — Second place, Graduate 10-minute presentation, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Field Crops
- Gwenyth Coleman — First place, Graduate 10-minute presentation, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Genetics
- Md. Mizanur Rahman — Second place, Graduate poster, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Biocontrol–Pathogens
- Kashish Verma — Second place, Graduate 10-minute presentation, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Host Plant Resistance
- Xixian Ng — Second place, Graduate 10-minute presentation, Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology Behavior
- Heather Hernandez — Second place, Graduate 10-minute presentation, Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology–Toxicology
The strong showing follows continued national success for the department. In November 2024, UNL undergraduate and graduate students led all institutions in the number of student presentation award winners at the ESA national meeting and again at the ESA North Central Branch meeting held in April 2025.
“These recognitions reflect a long tradition of excellence in teaching, Extension and research within our department,” said John Ruberson, department head. “They speak to the dedication of our faculty and staff and the exceptional talent of our students and alumni.”
